Premium links:

Industry Groups Applaud Congressional 1099 Repeal

The National Association of Home Builders and Window & Door Manufacturers Association are among the groups applauding the Senate's passage today of the repeal of the Form 1099 information reporting expansion that would have been required as part of the health care overhaul bill passed last year. The repeal bill, which now goes to President Obama for his signature, was already passed by the House.

Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act approved last year, starting in 2012 businesses would have to file an IRS Form 1099 for each vendor from whom they purchase more than $600 in goods over the course of the year. Opponents note that the annual $600 threshold applies to all vendors, so that businesses could find themselves sending out 1099 forms for such mundane purchases as coffee, fuel and office supplies.

"During the past several months, NAHB has led the effort along with other industry groups to strike all new expanded IRS Form 1099 reporting requirements for small businesses and owners of rental real estate," says Bob Nielsen, a Nevada homebuilder and NAHB chair. "In testimony before Congress and in 'key vote' letters to House and Senate leaders, we have spelled out how failing to overturn these rules would kill jobs and place a major paperwork and cost burden on home builders. We applaud Congress for acting to rectify this situation and urge the President to quickly sign this measure into law."

"WDMA welcomes today's Senate vote to repeal the Form 1099 reporting requirement that would have buried small manufacturers in paperwork. The strong bipartisan vote demonstrates the support garnered by WDMA members through their visits at last month's Legislative Conference and through calls and emails to legislators over the past year," says Colleen Levine, WDMA's director of legislative affairs. "Today's vote to send H.R. 4 to the President for his signature underscores the impact manufacturers can have in rolling back over-reaching and cumbersome regulations that impact window, door and skylight manufacturers and their customers."

"We are pleased Congress has acted to correct a flaw that placed an unnecessary bookkeeping burden on small businesses," said a White House statement issued in response to the Senate vote. "Small businesses are the engine of our economy and eliminating the 1099 reporting requirement is the right thing to do. As we move forward, we look forward to improving the tax credit policy in this legislation to ensure we protect small businesses and middle-class families. And the Administration remains eager to work with anyone with ideas about how we can make health care better or more affordable for all Americans.”